Notes / Commercial Description:
Racer X is an uncommon Double India Pale Ale which puts a California twist on English brewing traditions by adding an assertive hop aroma and bitterness that compliments the firm malt backbone. Like its little brother Racer 5, Racer X is balance in a bottle.

I love a great IPA. So naturally, I love this beer. No wonder it's won so many awards and high recognition. It works almost perfectly.
Let others sing the praises of this amazing beer in a wordier fashion. I'll just say if you like a great IPA, this beer is for you.

Very impressive appearance, solid, dense and the color of an orange. 1/2" white head. Hits the usual pungent notes of pine and citrus.

Taste, damn, thick malt to get them orange hues, syrup like. Still tons of hoppiness. Plenty of caramel. Basically this is a hybrid, a lot of English malt, even hops, but then they drop a solid amount of American hops and crystal malt.

Its good stuff, but bomber format leaves a little to be desired. Would easily bang these again at $10/4 pack.

This is solidly flavorful, but it's a bit of a novelty beer that I won't be drinking regularly. It has a Smokey Malt taste/aroma. Initially there is a "Piney" Hops flavor with an Orange aftertaste that blends well and doesn't feel artificial.

pours a dark, hazy cognac orange with a large head. the second pour from the bomber produced a completely opaque, dark orange amber, so this brew can settle hard. nose; massive grapefruit zest/pith, orange pulp, citrus hops (amarillo & centennial?), pine, & sugar. taste; big caramel malt, candied orange, pine resin, citrus hops, grapefruit zest, mango, & sugar.medium+ carbonation & slighlty heavy mouthfeel. very hoppy and citrus "juicy", and maybe just a touch on the sweet side (but every other sip reminds me of a slightly boiled down jai alai). ive only had one bomber of this stuff, but with a 2nd corroboration, i can see this being a 5 rate for me. bear republic needs more georgia distribution. simply fantastic!

Fairly-well balanced, though if they're going to be so proud of their balance, they could have toned down the hops a bit. But besides this advertising miss, this is a solid DIPA with a lot of grapefruit and resin, thick but gentle texture, smooth on the palate, heavy on the hops, and not overly bitter in the finish. A bit more malt would have been nice for balance, but it's a double IPA so why bother?

Nice citrusy nose, lots of orange. Very slight tropical scent as well. Flavour has the orange and citrus, but adds some pine, caramel and alcohol heat. The heat is surprisingly strong for a DIPA, impacting drinkability. Very good DIPA. It took me some time to finally come across it but the high reviews are warranted.

Undated bottle at 42 degrees into a snifter
$ 12.49 ($ 8.49 + $ 4 shipping) ($ 0.567/oz) from Craft Shack
Aroma starts very fruity on first snort then shifts to more of a pine resin odor which mostly fades by the end of the glass
Head average (4.5 cm, aggressive pour), light tan, creamy with a few rocks, diminishing to irregular four to eight mm ring and large frothy island
Lacing good – complete narrow rings with some stalactites and small islands of tiny to small bubbles
Body – medium orange, cloudy
Flavor – starts fruity and slightly bitter then the malt edges in but some bitterness remains; no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate medium, slightly oily, lively carbonation

Look: Copper towards orange in color; opaque. Pours with a HUGE 3+ finger tan head that dies down gradually leaving a thick, uneven layer of foam on the surface of the beer and large amounts of sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. Perfect!

Smell: Sweet citrus (think oranges mixed with some grapefruit), mildly grassy with some smooth hops. Made me want to take a drink!

Taste: Starts off with mild flavor of grain or malt, progresses on to a sweet citrus (think combination of oranges and grapefruit), followed by mild lemony taste,then mild grassy flavor ending with a slightly bitter hoppy taste. Absolutely delicious! Near perfect.

Feel: Medium to full body; mild fizzy sensation from the smooth carbonation; mild but noticeably dry finish. Left me a little thirsty for a glass of water.

Overall: One of the best DIPAs that I have ever had. Appealing look, nice aroma, great flavor and full body. Near perfect in my opinion. I would love to drink this again!

Slightly darker than a normal IPA. Flowery and hoppy smell. Great taste. Lots going on. Great amount of bitter without being too much. I would recommend this one for sure. Wasn't sure that I would like one better than Racer V from Bear Republic but this one is right up there with it.

Picked this up a few weeks ago at the Whole Foods on Houston St in New York, having never had this before but being on the lookout for this for all these since I had the Racer V. I expected this to be a bigger, bolder version of that beer and that was exactly the case once I cracked this 22 oz. bottle opened and savored it. This was strong in taste and alcohol but not overpowering and like the bottle stated, this had a California take on English brewing traditions.

It's not often that I give a beer a "5" in the look department on here, but this certainly deserved that rating. From the quietly radiant dark amber hue to the lacing that coated more of my pint glass than it missed to the head that lasted all the way from the top to the bottom of my pint glass, this was nearly as perfect an opening statement as any beer that I've ever had. The aroma was subdued but certainly solid, with hint of floral bitterness and hop oils/resin meshing nicely. Both of those were present in the taste, along with lime pith, tropical fruits, a subtly earthiness, and slight metallic tinge. Quite complex but amazingly, this went down smoothly as the mouthfeel was nicely balanced in the malt department, and almost felt as if British Kent or Golding hops were here. The finish was crisp as some carbonation lingered on and the cloudy hue of this beer was a hint that this would be full from start to finish.

Sure, this was strong but it almost came across that there were nine versions of this beer before the tenth came out. While not the best Imperial IPA out there, this was a textbook example of how to brew one. They don't get much better, much friendlier to the novice, or much wetter than this and my only regret was that I didn't get more of these when I had a chance. The blood orange-like juiciness of this kept me wanting more and downing this quicker than I would have liked, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Easily the best brew in Bear Republic's solid lineup!

Feel 4.25 Medium carbonation, sticky with a long lasting touch of bitter.

Overall 4.25 I like It, I probably wont be returning to it often, due to the price point and so many other IPA bombers always competing for that dollar. But it is definitely not one to be missed if you have not had it before.

Enjoyed from the 22 oz bottle in a pint glass. This double IPA pours a bright orange with a thick frothy white head that has true staying power and as it dissipates displays some of the best lacing I have ever seen. Nose of deep rich caramel, citrus notes of oranges and lemons,. and bittering hops. Flavors are deep and boasting of a great sweet malt backbone and waves of citrus hops. heavy alcohol and a slight grain flavor comes through on the back....very warming. Aftertaste boasts sweet and bitter in a delicious harmony. very good. happy to have had it!

One of those beers that I really badly wanted to try, never found, and then forgot about it. Also one of the very earliest double IPAs to generate lots of hype--every few months, some jackelope would post about how Bear Republic was going to start releasing it in sixers and/or start sending it to the midwest, but neither of those things ever happened.

Also, incidentally, the one time I ever got burned a trade I was supposed to get this beer in exchange for Dreadnaught and NG Belgian Red. Which is why, I suppose, I stopped looking for it.

Tastes like it smells. Excellent balance between bready and spicy malt sweetness and bitter, juicy hops. The recipe is obviously a couple generations old (craft beer generations each lasting between 3-4 years), and someone with a narrower and more newly developed pallet might be put off by its lack of tropical nodes and/or its relative modesty. But it's very good.